This disclosure relates generally to computerized color graphics, color reproduction, and electronic printing systems, and more particularly to a user interface system and method in which user interface options are dependent on electronic file format content.
Computerized color graphics systems and electronic printing systems are known in the art. Typically, they enable an operator to produce a color image—any visual two-dimensional pattern including one or more text, graphic line art elements, continuous tone image elements, and so forth—and from that image to produce a representation that can be printed using a color reproduction system, for example, by producing color separation plates for offset printing, gravure printing, and flexographic printing. It is desirable to be able to reliably simulate the output of a production press on a digital printer for a short run sample of the final product, but the accuracy of such samples has been limited in the past due to difficulties in matching colors specified for a job on the production press with those available on a typical four-color digital printer. In the context of this application, production presses print using a variety of simultaneous spot color inks as well as primary colors, which are generally cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, although extended gamut presses may utilize additional or alternate primary colors, sometimes also referred to as spot color inks.
In contrast, digital presses or digital printers have less or no support for simultaneous spot color inks. A typical production system includes the press as well as remote software applications preparing and/or submitting files to the press or plate setter for print production. A digital production system includes the remote software applications and the digital press. In general the remote software applications and the digital production press or the production press can communicate capabilities.
Designers can use spot color inks, for example Pantone® inks, in two different ways: the first is to specify a color, and the second is to specify an ink with which the design will be printed on an offset, gravure or flexo press. The expected behavior of an object defined with a “spot color”, or an ink, placed on top or underneath another object within the design, depends on the designer's intent. When the spot color is used to define a color, usually it is expected to render the color. When the spot color is intended to be used as an ink on a press, the final appearance of overprinting objects on that press will be different. When such a file is to be printed on a digital, four-color press, for a short run sample of the final product, for instance a package, the color rendering of spot color object overprinting with other objects in the file has to be rendered according to the intent of the designer. To complicate matters, in a single print job certain spot colors may have been used merely to specify the color, and others may have been intended to be used as an ink on a press.
Currently there is no satisfactory solution in digital front ends for color printers to address this problem. Existing controllers for digital printers do not include options in a graphical user interface for setting overprint options on an ink basis, depending on the job content. Therefore, what is needed is a method that provides a Print job content analysis step on a file submitted to a printer controller in which the file is analyzed to identify the use of spot inks and adapt overprinting behavior to reflect the desired output of the production press on the short run press.
In general, PDL content sensitive GUI options are not being used in the industry. In contrast it is common practice to display all possible PDL processing options for a certain PDL type, even though some of these options may not influence the specific PDL's processing because of the PDL's content. This can be confusing to the operator, who may change a setting thinking it will affect the output only to find out that there is no influence or to confuse other changes in the system, such as changes in the PDL or change in system response, with the change in GUI selection.
All U.S. patents and published U.S. patent applications cited herein are fully incorporated by reference. The following patents or publications are noted:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,483,607 to Van de Capelle et al. (“Method and Device for Determining the Color Appearance of Color Overprints”) describes a method for determining a small number of parameters that spectrally characterize colorants and for using the colorant parameters to predict the spectral reflection or transmission characteristics of the colorants when they are deposited on top of one another on an opaque, transparent, or semitransparent carrier of a particular type. Each colorant is deposited with a certain coverage percentage, for example, dot percentage in the case of offset printing. The colorant parameters of any colorant are substantially independent of the color of the substrate and include dependency on the colorants deposited before and after. Measurements of sets of prints of varying coverage percentages of a colorant on a number of backgrounds are made and the resulting set of equations for the colorant are solved. Colorants that are defined by a recipe of basic colorants are characterized from measurements on prints of the basic colorants. However, while Van de Capelle provides a method for spectrally characterizing colorants, he does not teach a graphical user interface for simulating the behavior of production press spot inks on a digital press.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0150411 to Bestmann (“Method for the Reproduction of Spot Colors with Primary Printing Inks and Secondary Printing Inks”) describes method for reproducing spot colors (special colors or decorative colors) with a combination of the primary printing inks cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and at least one secondary printing ink red, green, blue. A first test form is printed with the primary printing inks and measured colorimetrically. Further test forms, in which one of the colored primary printing inks is replaced by a substantially complementary secondary printing ink, are printed and measured colorimetrically. An ICC color profile is calculated from the measured data of each test form. For each spot color to be reproduced, the proportions of printing inks of the ICC color profile achieving the lowest deviation between the spot color and the reproduced color are determined. The printing ink combination belonging to that ICC profile is selected for the reproduction of the spot color. However, Bestmann provides only a means to identify printing ink combinations to reproduce a spot color and does not speak to a method for simulating production press spot ink behavior on a digital press through a graphical user interface.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0193956 to Van de Capelle et al. (“Method and Device for Determining the Color Appearance of Color Overprints”) teaches a method for predicting the color of an overprint of a set of colorants at a set of coverage percentages on a substrate using a printing technique, with the colorants including some for which a device profile is provided. The method includes determining the colorant parameters of the device profile colorants, determining the spectrum of the substrate, providing spectral colorant parameters for the non-device profile colorants, and determining the color of the overprint. The data of the device profile may be modified such that the identified colorant parameters determine the colorant parameters of modified colorants that match the color of the device profile colorants and that cover the gamut of the device profile colorants. Determining the color of the overprint involves determining the coverage percentages of the modified colorants corresponding to the colorants of each subset and using the coverage percentages of the modified colorants to determine the color of the overprint. Van de Capelle et al. is directed to determining the color appearance of color overprints, but does not teach a graphical user interface enabling simulation of production press spot ink behavior on a digital press.
The disclosed embodiments provide examples of improved solutions to the problems noted in the above Background discussion and the art cited therein. There is shown in these examples an improved method for enabling adaptive print job content processing as a function of the electronic format and content of files received in a digital print production environment. Access is provided to a display in the form of a user interface able to select job content processing options. The method includes receiving a print job description in one or more electronic format files, with the print job including supplementary information for one or more electronic format files. Depending on the electronic format of the files, job programming options are structured. Programming options are presented on the user interface for review by an operator. If the operator has indicated a modification to a parameter value(s), the processing parameters are adjusted. The electronic format files are then processed according to the adjusted processing parameters or according to the presented programming options if no modifications have been made to the parameter value(s).
In another embodiment there is provided a print production system controller having a display in the form of a graphical user interface for providing the capability for selecting job content processing options and enabling adaptive print job content processing as a function of received electronic files content. The controller includes means for receiving print jobs having original design files or design files in electronic format file and supplementary information. The controller structures job programming options depending on the supplementary information of the electronic format files and presents the programming options on the user interface for review by an operator. The job programming options may include parameters, parameter value(s) and parameter selectability, among other possibilities. The system determines whether the operator has indicated a modification to one or more parameter values and adjusts the parameter values accordingly. The electronic format files are then processed according to the adjusted processing parameters or according to the presented programming options if no modifications have been made to the parameter value(s).
In yet another embodiment there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied in the medium. When the program code is executed by a computer, the program code causes the computer to perform method steps for enabling adaptive print job content processing as a function of the electronic format and content of files received in a digital print production environment providing access to a display in the form of a user interface able to select job content processing options. The method includes receiving a print job description in one or more electronic format files. The print job description includes supplementary information. Depending on the supplementary information, job programming options are structured. The job programming options may include parameters, parameter value(s) and parameter selectability, among other possibilities. Programming options are presented on the user interface for review and possible modification by an operator. A determination is made whether operator modifications have been requested. If so, processing parameters are adjusted for the print job based on the operator modifications. The electronic format files are then processed according to the adjusted processing parameters or the original job programming options if no operator modifications are requested.